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Voldrania
Voldrania, often referred to as Old Voldrania in modern times, was a large archipelago separate from both the Old World and New Voldrania which was colonized over the course of sixty years, ending with its destruction at the hands of the Void Devourer. The region was colonized during the Voldranian exodus which began in 1 BE, and was comprised of voluntary settlers, refugees, outlaws, and government-determined "undesirables", among others. History See also: Voldranian Timeline Arrival Voldrania was settled for the first time in Human history in 1 AE after a year long exodus organized by, among others, Adam Akarvon. At the time the settlers were led to believe that the exodus was organized to escape the Old World and its constant warfare, and the governments of the world used it as an opportunity to get rid of their "undesirables" and criminals. It would later be revealed that the entire expedition was arranged by the Cult of Inversion, which intended to colonize Voldrania an build an army there to fight the Void Devourer. When the settlers did finally arrive in Voldrania they began the process of building a new society for themselves, and they started by forming a new nation: Akarv, named in honor of the expeditions leader Adam Akarvon. Within a few years the Voldranian settlements had stabilized enough that the more adventurous among them began to spread out, forming new settlements further and further inland. It wasn't all peaceful at first. In 5 AE a terrorist group led by John Ghern waged guerilla warfare against the Akarvian settlements in an attempt to strong arm them into accepting a monarchical government. This crisis was ended in 8 AE when Ghern was captured and, in an act of mercy, he and his followers were exiled on the treat of being killed on sight. The First Signs of Chaos By 20 AE the nations Akarv, Equis, and Yoren had all formed and achieved levels of acceptable stability and had begun colonizing a newly discovered landmass to the west. This colony would go on to become the nation Tripoly, but it was challenged when their existence was discovered by a small nation-state formed by Ghern's followers years prior. This led to a standoff that finally gave way in 25 AE when the Heran-Tripolian War broke out. The Heran-Tripolian War lasted nearly two years, in favor of John Ghern's "Hera", before the more powerful nations Akarv and Yoren intervened, ending the way by 28 AE by using their newly created Airships. After a brief occupation the growing international community recognized the reformed Hera as a sovereign state, just as other nations such as Fallnavor, Scavoran, and Fhia were coming into existence. The next decade was one of peace and growth for the eight forming nations in Voldrania. It got to a point where they decided it was time to legitimize their borders and solidify their position in their new world, and in 40 AE representatives came together to form the International Council of Voldrania, an eight-member Council aimed to promote peace and cooperation between every nation. That peace was soon disrupted, as a coup in Fhia left its democratically elected ruler dead and monarch Gary Wig in power. The new Akarvian President, Alan Fruith, took poorly to this and declared war in what he called an attempt to "save" Fhia. The ensuing Akarv-Fhia War lasted about a year and ended when Fallnavor and Scavoran allied with Fhia, and the Akarvian people turned against Fruith. He was impeached and exiled for his actions, and the world again began to calm down. Era of Instability In spite of international prosperity and isolationism, peace was again short lived. In 48 AE James Jaykay took the Fallnavorian throne from his mother and began a colonization campaign that challenged Akarvian interests in the area. Akarv did not immediately respond, but its people grew antsy for years. This led to the election of Adam Pyro who faced Jaykay head on in what would become as the Near War: A period of heightened tensions with no actual warfare. The Near War defined much of everything that happened in Voldrania for the next few years, even for those nations which were not involved. While Akarv and Fallnavor were on the edge of war two new nations were formed and recognized by the Council: Eirros and Mynyyd. Both immediately found themselves pestered by the combating superpowers in hopes of gaining their alliance. The Near War came to an end only after Akarv was made aware of Fallnavor's plan to abuse the Council to further its own goals. This resulted in disgruntled Fallnavorian noble James Navor II staging a coup that left him in control of the nation. Even after the Near War was over and Akarv and Fallnavor were mending relations peace was not possible, as evidence had been continually mounting that there was a conspiracy going on involving the Nether. Somehow something had torn holes into the Void barrier, allowing direct transportation between realms for both creatures of the Overworld and the Nether alike. But even this was overshadowed by Voldrania's growing political instability. In 57 AE the allies Tripoly and Tedre came together to declare war on Akarv, igniting the Ghernian War. The bulk of this war was fought in 58 AE with Fallnavor joining Akarv as an ally. At the same time Hera experienced multiple political overhauls in the course of a few days, leaving the world on edge as to whether or not they and their new administration could be trusted. And all the while new evidence about the Nether Conspiracy continued to surface, causing panic among the public. The Ghernian War was won by Akarv and Fallnavor in 59 AE, but almost immediately afterwards Fallnavor entered a second Near War, this time with Scavoran. The two faced imminent War that was only halted by the culmination of the Nether Conspirators plans. The Fall of Voldrania In 60 AE the Void Devourer, allied with several prominent human Netherans and Nether Spirits in the region, made a full-blown attack on Voldrania by destroying the Void barrier beneath it. This caused massive earthquakes across the entire region, in some cases destroying the landmass entirely. This was accompanied by an invasion of Nether Spirits in the Overworld. Fortunately the chaos was largely that: chaotic, and the disorganization of the Netheric forces allowed many of the nations of Voldrania to organize full retreats. Some nations, such as Fallnavor and Fhia, unfortunately succumbed to the madness and much of their populations fell with Voldrania. The rest managed to survive, though only five governments made it to New Voldrania: Akarv, Equis, Scavoran, Tripoly, and Tedre. The destruction in Voldrania was ended by the Inversion after the evacuations began. Voldrania was destroyed, its forests were burning and it had become almost entirely uninhabitable, but the immediate threat of the Overworlds destruction was ended. As for the Voldranians, they managed to reach New Voldrania where they rebuilt and eventually fought, and beat, the Void Devourer for good. Geography As a region that had been completely untouched by sentient life until 1 AE, Voldrania was extremely lush, with forests covering nearly every corner of the landmass. Even the mountains had lush plant life, and the few exceptions to this rule, the regions deserts, had enough water and accessible materials to reasonably support life. Much of the region was believed to be flat, not counting the few mountain ranges. This was difficult to determine considering the thick forests, but regions with extreme hills were infrequent at best. There are two major "fault lines" that define the regions mountain ranges. One runs along the western shore of Ghern down into Eirros, while the other runs from northern Primaria down and curves east before disappearing underwater. While there were several notable bodies of water the only one particularly relevant on an international scale was the Ghern Sea, an open body of water located beneath Primaria, Ghern, Eirros, and the Navor Lands. The sea had seven nations directly bordering it, making it the single most frequented waterway, and for many it became pivotal for international trade. Continents Compared to the Old World, or even New Voldrania, Voldrania is merely an archipelago, a bunch of small islands that make up a sizeable landmass. This did not dissuade the Voldranian settlers from organizing the region into five distinct "Continents", each of which defined a corner of the new world and houses multiple nations. The specific boundaries of each continent were defined in 40 AE when the International Council of Voldrania was formed. Primaria Primaria was the largest continent, dominating the eastern half of Voldrania. When the settlers arrived in Voldrania they landed on Primaria's shores and spread from there. Akarv, Equis, Yoren, and Mynyyd were the four nations that called Primaria home, and the three former ones were among the earliest settlements to be formed in Voldrania. Ghern Ghern is the central continent of Voldrania, named in honor of the man who first discovered it, John Ghern. The name was challenged by the likes of Akarv and Tripoly, which saw Ghern as a war criminal. Ultimately the name went through, and much like its namesake, the continent went on to become one of the most volatile and war-torn in the region. The Ghernian War, most notably, took place almost entirely on the continent. The Navor Lands The Navor Lands are the northern archipelago of Voldrania which were discovered and initially settled by James Navor. The continent would go on the become the second most populated in the region through the nation of Fallnavor. The nations of the Navor Lands often found themselves in conflict with their neighbors, though were all formed after, and therefore did not partake in, the Heran-Tripolian War The Strip The smallest continent, The Strip was initially considered a part of Ghern until it became clear that it existed between both Ghern and Eirros, but was split from both of them by water. Ownership of The Strip was a point of contention between several nations until a compromise was reached: The Strip would be split into three sections, and each of the three smallest nations (Scavoran, Tripoly, and Fhia) would be given land there. Eirros Eirros was one of the largest, least colonized, and definitively the coldest, continents in Voldrania. The nation of Eirros was the only one to ever settle there, though struggled to establish a significant enough foothold to be considered a world power. The continent was home to one of a few massive trees scattered throughout the world, many of which hold significant religious connotations. Nations There were 11 formally recognized nations throughout Voldrania's history. Non-National Entities Through never formally recognized as independent nations, there were two groups in Voldrania that are worthy of their own mention. In addition to these two entities, there were two continents owned by the International Council of Voldrania that were considered to be Neutral Territory, but they were never used in a significant enough capacity to warrant a place on the above list. Demographics Voldrania was directly colonized by citizens of the Old World, and while they did come together to form ethnic majorities in various nations over the decades, every nation was typically more diverse than any in the Old World, or even modern New Voldrania. The thing that most separated people in Voldrania was not race but politics, and each new nation represented some new or unrepresented political ideal. The democracies of Akarv and Equis were similar but not the same, and over time many people emigrated to whichever better suited their needs. Likewise, certain nations opted for monarchies similar to those in the Old World, deepening the divide even further. Due to Voldrania's connection to the Old World almost everyone in Voldrania spoke Tavrosian and followed some branch of the Seryist faith, due in large part to the "Cultural Singularity" policies of the ancient Tavrosian Empire that still rippled throughout history. While almost no exceptions existed in terms of language, there were a few notable examples of non-Seryist peoples or nations in Voldrania. The most prominent was found in the nation Fallnavor, whose national religion was the Cult of Argoth. Over time a growing number of people began to abandon faith altogether, and many began subscribing to the belief of "Neutrality". See Also *New Voldrania *Old World *Notable Voldranians *Census of Significant Persons *Notable Conflicts Category:Voldrania Category:Regions